Random Encounter in the Padova Mountains
by OffCenterFold
Summary: Rune Factory 2 briefly meets Tales of Phantasia.  Aaron's working hard.  Arche is flying high.  Tiny little one shot done just for fun.


Aaron wiped the sweat from his brow. He'd been working harder than ever to find his father, and between Mana's classes, raising crops in and out of the caves, fighting monsters, and keeping a social life, he was pretty beat. Still, the Rune energy from the crops helped a lot. He was going to have to run to one of the caves soon, or pass out.

He hoisted the Magic Broom he'd just upgraded in the forge – communicating with a friend, he'd gotten it in exchange for a highly developed Rune Staff. It looked a bit dorky to his nine year old eyes, but he definitely felt the difference. He wondered if it could fly.

"One way to find out," he told himself. Replacing the supplies he hadn't yet used on the shelves, he ran out of the workroom (he never simply walked ANYWHERE, for any reason – he was, after all, a nine year old boy!) and headed to the crossroads. "Just a quick run to Padova Mountains," he promised himself. "Just to the crops. Once I'm full I'm going to go right back to work. I'm not gonna kill any monsters this time."

He raced off into the mountains, not minding the freezing cold, and past the first Generator. No sooner had he entered the cavern in which his crops grew, he heard a voice exultantly crying, "I won! I won!" It sounded like a girl, probably closer to his mom's age than his own. "Haha! Take that you mon...What? I just killed you!"

Oh brother. Someone else who needed rescuing – as if he had time for it! Well, whatever. He reached into his pack for the Rune Blade he'd also traded for, and ran at the ready. He was impressed; Necros were really hard to kill. Whoever was in there must be pretty strong.

He slid to a stop, surprised; the pink haired girl flying around on the ratty-looking broomstick actually looked a little like his mom. Well, she was built a lot like her, and their hair was the same color anyway. And apparently they both liked magic – but there was another Necro flickering into existence!

He kept running, heading directly for the swirling green glow that meant a gate. Knowing the stranger could fight the Necros made him more eager to shut them away and see if she could teach him any neat tricks he'd never learn from Barrett. He used the quick four-step attack he'd learned from his father – slash, backslash, downwards, then thrust – and the Generator was gone. He ran past the pink-haired girl, still fighting one Necro – the other had vanished just before he'd vanquished the Generator – and knocked the other one out. As he was running back to help her, he heard her jubilant cry echoing in the caves again.

"Cool!" he called out, sheating the Rune Blade. "I'm Aaron. Who're you?"

"My name's Arche," said the girl, floating nearer on her broom. "Is that a broom in your pack? Why aren't you riding it?"

Aaron explained quickly; he didn't know if it would fly. "Oh, that's easy," Arche replied. She focused on it, muttered some words he couldn't quite catch, and the broom left his pack and floated about two feet off the ground. He stared.

"Wow! How do I do that?" He reached for the broom but as soon as his fingers touched it, it fell to the floor. His face fell with it.

"I guess you can't," Arche said sadly. She bent to pick up the broom, which promptly began floating again.

"D'you want it?" Aaron shrugged. "I can always make another."

"Really? THANKS!" Arche took the broom back and danced in a circle with it. Aaron took a step back without thinking; the look on his face clearly said he thought she was WEIRD. "You've done me a really big favour, and Arche Klein never forgets a favour!" She hugged the broom again. "I better go though. My friends will be wondering what happened to me. Where is this place anyway?"

"The Padova Mountains... Where are you from?"

Arche blinked. "The what? No, never mind. I'll find my way back. Thanks again!" With a whirl of pink, the girl was up on her broom, streaking off into the distance. Aaron shook his head, stepped into the warm glow of the rune energy, and ran back to his forge.

[AN] Aaron seems to be the default name for the male child in RF2. And yes, there is a Magic Broom that you get when you trade a Level 10 Rune Staff with another player in WiFi mode. That was the inspiration for this short crossover. It was done as a one-page challenge. I may add to it eventually, but most likely not. [/AN]


End file.
